Bob Oscar Benjamin van Strijen

Doctoral Research Fellow - Medieval Studies
Image of Bob Oscar Benjamin van Strijen
Norwegian version of this page
Username
Visiting address Niels Henrik Abels vei 36 Henrik Wergelands hus 0313 Oslo
Postal address Postboks 1102 Blindern 0317 Oslo
Other affiliations Faculty of Humanities (Student)

Background

M.Phil. Viking and Medieval Norse Studies, University of Oslo, 2016
B.A. World Religions ('Wereldgodsdiensten'), Leiden University, 2013

Ph.D. project

My doctoral research project will see the analysis of several key debates in Old Norse philology, particularly how the political leanings of Dutch philologist-turned-scholar of religion Jan de Vries (1890-1964) and his colleagues affected how these debates played out. The approach will be two-fold. First, a full survey and analysis of a selection of epistolary evidence, followed by a number of comparative reviews of select publications. Preliminary research in the personal archive of Jan de Vries has indicated politics played a bigger role in his work than previously assessed. The analysis of the epistolary evidence will allow for the reconstruction of the historical and social contexts in which these scholars operated, and the political opinions and personal ideologies they maintained or developed. The following comparative reviews of select publications will be contextualized in the analyses of part one, and are likely to display where and to what extent the lines between politics and scholarship became blurred. Overall, the project will shed new light on the development of the field after the war, and, by extension, on the long-lasting effects this has had on our continued understanding of Old Norse texts.

Academic interests

My main, current interest is the history of mid-twentieth century scholarship on Old Norse and 'Germanic' philology and religion. This follows from a broader interest in Old Norse mythology and Pre-Christian religions of the north.

Tags: Germanic, Old Norse Philology, History, Historiography, History of scholarship, Philology, History of Religions, Mythology, Runology

Publications

Cristin returned 'not found'

Published Oct. 3, 2022 11:18 AM - Last modified Jan. 31, 2023 11:55 AM